At the time he said: "I look at people who have been in politics for five, 10, 15 years and muck up.

"You see them muck up and think 'you guys are supposed to be pro!'

"People that have gone to Oxbridge, had thousands spent on their education, and I mean they are royally mucking up."

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MADE THE CUT: MEP Syed Kamall and MP Zac Goldsmith have both been shortlisted

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SHORTLISTED: MPs Andrew Boff and Stephen Greenhalgh are also in the running

People online were quick to react to the Arsenal and Spurs legend's dropping out of the race.

Geoff Pearce (@john29d) tweeted: "@SolManOfficial shame about not making the London shortlist – must have been worries about Tottenham voters."

Christopher Wood, posting as @crwexe, said: "Sol Campbell won't be Mayor of London (at least under the Conservative banner). I think that's probably best for everyone. #badlucksol"

And Mark Lewis, tweeting as @marklewislawyer, wrote: "In a ballot between #GeorgeGalloway and #SolCampbell I'd have voted for Sol."

“We have four excellent candidates who will now campaign across London over the summer before all Londoners will get the opportunity to vote in our primary in September”

Ian Twinn

Respect Party leader George Galloway announced he was running for the post last month, after losing his Bradford West seat in the general election.

Official hustings for the potential Tory party candidates will be held in September and the winning candidate will be announced by the end of that month.

Other hopefuls who weren't picked were businessman Ivan Massow and Westminster City Council leader Philippa Roe.

Massow had launched his campaign on YouTube, with a cartoon of himself declaring: "I'm gay, I'm an ex-alcoholic and I'm dyslexic."

"I'm not your typical politician," he added.

London regional chairman Ian Twinn said: "We have four excellent candidates who will now campaign across London over the summer before all Londoners will get the opportunity to vote in our primary in September."

Boris Johnson has served as Mayor of London for eight years, but announced he would only continue for one more year after being elected MP for Uxbridge and South Ruislip in May.

He was also appointed as a minister without portfolio in David Cameron's cabinet after the general election.

Last month Labour shortlisted six candidates for the role – the frontrunners being MPs Sadiq Khan and Dame Tessa Jowell.

Other candidates on the party's list are MPs David Lammy, Diane Abbott and Gareth Thomas, and journalist Christian Wolmar.